Pied Wagtail

Walking the girls to school this morning in the drizzle I had a singing Willow Warbler (an early bird and my first this year) plus 4 geese flying north. This made me think that there was a big arrival happening.  I therefore drove around Maridalen with great anticipation but was to be disappointed as there was nothing new from yesterday.

Continuing up to Nordre Øyeren I was hoping that there would be a new selection of waders and ducks. First stop was the river in Lillestrøm where I had a Pied Wagtail type that seemed to tick the boxes of being a genuine bird rather than intermediate/hybrid. It was not an adult (3k+) male as it lacked a jet black back but may well have been a 2k male rather than a female. It had duskier flanks and a more even dark mantle than the bird of last week. I did not see the rump properly but from what I could see it was dark.

Pied Wagtail Lillestrøm

Svellet is still one big mud flat and the Curlew flock numbers 204 but with no other waders other than 13 Oystercatchers and a handful of Lapwing. Conditions are obviously good for ducks now though with 420 Teal, 2 Pintail and 2 Wigeon. I had 2 Ring Ouzel and a few Brambling from where I was viewing.

Driving around to the western side I stopped at Dynovika and had my first Little Ringed Plovers of the year (3 birds) alongside 8 Green Sandpipers, 60 Teal and 9 Goosanders.

Snekkervika was the highlight of the day. The mudflats here are not as attractive to Curlew or Teal with only 7 Curlew and no Teal but there were some other waders with 8 Greenshank, my first Ruff of the year, 4 Green Sandpipers, 2 Oystercathers and 10 Lapwings. In the marsh behind the bay there were 2 displaying Snipe plus 3 others calling, a pair of Curlew were displaying in flight, the pair of Gadwall were still present and a male Merlin shot over. Through the ‘scope I picked out a Great Grey Shrike further up Årnestangen.